Football shoe and heel plate therefor

ABSTRACT

A heel plate is mounted on the conventional posts of a football shoe or the like by means of converging - diverging slots symmetrically positioned through the plate to provide for adjustment to accommodate different post spacings yet assure against movement of the plate once located on the posts. The heel plate may also be integrally molded with the sole of an athletic shoe and includes a notch extending transversely through the plate with the notch having a vertical wall facing the outside of the shoe and an inclined wall facing the inside of the shoe. This abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application which, of course, is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

United States Patent [191 Davis et al.

FOOTBALL SHOE AND HEEL PLATE THEREFOR Inventors: Otho Davis, Baltimore;Donald A.

Gardiner, Bowie, both of Md.

Assignee: Cameron Athletic Corporation,

Houston, Tex.

Filed: July 26, 1971 Appl. No.: 166,106

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 24,628,April 1, 1970, abandoned.

U.S. Cl 36/67 D Int. Cl. A43c 15/00 Field of Search..... 36/67 A, 67 D,59 C, 2.5 H,

36/2.5 AL, 2.5 R, 82

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Braun 36/67 D McCarney 36/67 DFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,030,847 3/1953 France 36/67 D 430,7062/1948 ltaly 36/67 A Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Jack R. Springgate; Joe E. Edwards; M. H. Gay

[5 7] ABSTRACT A heel plate is mounted on the conventional posts of afootball shoe or the like by means of converging diverging slotssymmetrically positioned through the plate to provide for adjustment toaccommodate different post spacings yet assure against movement of theplate once located on the posts. The heel plate may also be integrallymolded with the sole of an athletic shoe and includes a notch extendingtransversely through the plate with the notch having a vertical wallfacing the outside of the shoe and an inclined wall facing the inside ofthe shoe. This abstract is neither intended to define the invention ofthe application which, of course, is measured by the claims, nor is itintended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEnJum m4 3.815346 sum 1 or 2INVENTORS 0M0 00 is M /J%M Donald A. Gard/her, Jr.

A r TORNE Ys rmnmmwm 3.816946 SHEEI 2 0? 2 Donald A. GardineI; J17

Ofh D-avi VENT C 1 FOOTBALL SHOE AND HEEL PLATE THEREFOR Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 24,628, filed Apr. 1,l970,now abandoned.

' BACKGROUND The avid interest and participation of a great number ofyouths and men in the game of football has. brought to the fore thegreat concern of many people in respect of physical injury of suchparticipants. One. of the most prevalent and serious injuries areinjuries to the knee, which, not only eliminates the injured person fromparticipation in the game for periods of time, but, may be of suchserious nature to require corrective surgical procedure.

Recent studies indicate that many knee injuries if not all such injuriesarise because when physical contact, i.e., blocking and tackling, ismade between opposing players the traditional cleated athletes shoe doesnot release from the turf on which the game is. played. Consequently, ifa player is subject to impact in the area between hip and ankle or if heis twisted inthe trunk area, his feet are vertically locked to the turfand the strain of twisting and/or impact is concentrated in the legs, inparticular the knee. Thus, so-called football knee, is a too commonlyrecognized malady that is risked by players of all ages.

The conclusion that the conventional cleat will not release fast enoughto prevent serious knee injuries, in turn, has created a further problemin that the ability of a player to maneuver is drastically curtailed ifsome form of turf engaging device is not provided on the shoes wornduring play. Thus, while elimination of all cleats would reduce thefrequency of knee injuries, players and coaches alike are reluctant torecommend abolition of the traditional cleat, taking the calculated riskthat serious injury may be avoided.

In the meantime as a consequence of the circumstances outlined, a numberof developments in football cleats or athletic shoe sole and heel plateshave made their appearance. U.S. Pats. Re. 26,419 and 3,403,461 typifyvarious approaches under consideration as an alternative to theconventional cleat. Reference is also made to design application Ser.No. D-22,548 filed by Otho L. Davis Apr. 21, 1970.

THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with a heel plate forathletic shoes, particularly football shoes. It has for a prime objectthe provision of a heel plate which will provide maximum traction yetmaximum safety to the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heel plate for athleticshoes which can be firmly anchored to the conventional cleat post of anyathletic shoe.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a heel plate whichmay be substituted. for the conventional cleats on any athletic shoeregardless of manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heel plate which willrelease from the turf quickly in the event a player is contacted by anopponent, particularly on the outside of the leg.

The stated objects of the invention and other objects readily apparentto those skilled in the art, though not specifically set forth, may beaccomplished by forming a synthetic plastic material into an oval blockhaving a pair of symmetrically positioned slots and a deep modifiedV-shaped notch disposed between the slots, the slots converging towardeach other toward the rear of a shoe on which the plate is applied; thenotch having one substantially vertical side wall and asloping wall.

Having described my invention in broad terms further definition thereofwill be found in the following more detailed descriptive matter whereinreference is made to the appended drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a heel plate for a left foot shoe.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a heel plate taken along the line 2--2 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view, reduced somewhat in size showing the heel plateapplied to the heel of a right foot shoe, the plate being somewhatmodified.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of an athletic shoe having the improved heel ofthe present invention integrally molded with the sole.

FIG. 6 is a side view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5 to indicate thetransverse sectional shape of the heel.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the heel and sole portion taken along line7-7 in FIG. 5 to clearly show the notch of the integral heel-solestructure of this form of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Considering FIG. 1, ismay be seen that the heel plate 10 is oval in plan form. The outsidewall 2 of the plate is sloped so that the area of the plate adjacent theshoe is larger than the area which contacts the ground. The central areaof the plate is formed into a modified V- shaped notch which lies on theminor axis of the oval. As shown in FIG. 2 one wall 4 of the notch issubstantially vertical, while the other wall 4 diverges from the bottomof the notch outwardly at a. substantial slope angle. The reason forthis configuration will become apparent subsequently.

It should further be noted here that the heel plate 10 is provided witha pair of slots 8 and 8' extending in a converging-divergingrelationship toward the front and rear, i.e., transverse of the majoraxis of the oval and symmetrical with respect to the minor axis thereof.Preferably the slots are stepped at 12 and 14 to provide peripheralcounterbores in the ground contacting surface for reasons as will becomeapparent as the description proceeds.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4 is may be seen that plate 10 is mounted onthe heel area of an athletic shoe 20 with its major axis transverse tothe length of the shoe. The vertical wall 4 of the notch is disposed soas to face the outside of the shoe and preferably same indicia such asarrow 16 is provided on the heel plate to assure its properinstallation. As shown particularly in FIG. 4, the mounting means forthe heel plate 10 comprises an internally threaded post 22 suitably andconventionally affixed to the shoe 20. A threaded screw 24 having a widehead 26 is screwed into the post and the underside of head 26, which isusually serrated, bears down'in the counterbored area 12 to clamp theplate onto the shoe bottom. Reference to US. Pat. Re.

26,419 will also disclose another and conventional post and screwarrangement.

Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the screw head 26is seated in the counterbore 12 so that the head does not project beyondthe ground contact surface of the plate. It will also be noted that,with the vertical wall 4 of the notch facing outward, the heel plateprovides more traction or gripping with the turf in one direction, i.e.,against outward slipping of the shoe, hence the players foot, than itdoes against slippage in the inward direction. When it is rememberedthat most leg and knee injuries occur when the impact force of contactwith an opponent player is on the outside of the leg toward the insideof the leg, the value of the modified V-notch can readily beappreciated. Thus, while a player can obtain sufficient traction topermit sure footed maneuvering, as when cutting, i.e., making abruptchanges in direction, at the same time, if he is hit by an opponent inthe area of greatest danger, his foot will readily release from the turfso as to markedly reduce the chance of serious knee leg inury.

Of equal importance in the present invention is the type and dispositionof the mounting slots 8 and 8 which are in a converging-divergingrelation transverse to the major axis of the heel plate 10 and which asshown in FIG. 3 at 8a and 8a may be slightly arcuate or, as shown inFIG. 1 may be simply straight slots 8 and 8'. This arrangement of themounting slots permits the heel plate 10 to be used with almostuniversal application to any type of athletic shoe that is provided withmounting posts or similar means whereby the plate 10 may be affixed tothe heel area of the shoe. When it is realized that, because of thedesign factors or other reasons, the lateral distance between heelposts, i.e., the spacing of said posts laterally of the longitudinalcenterline of the shoe, varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, itwill be appreciated that a universally attachable heel plate must bedesigned to accommodate such variations. Several proposals to facilitatesuch universal use are reflected in U.S. Patents Re. 26,419 and3,403,461 both of which use at least one slot or more extending along aline transverse of the longer axis of the heel plate whereby toaccommodate the different post spacing.

The present heel plate contrarily employs slots 8, 8 which moregenerally parallel the shorter or minor axis of heel plate 10 and areconverged toward one another at the front or rear of the plate. Inaddition, the slots may be slightly arcuate as shown in FIG. 3. Thispositioning is so derived as to permit not only accommodation of variousspaced posts but even more important it permits some angularadjustability of the heel plate 10 on the shoe 20. Additionally, onceproperly positioned, it will be seen that the walls of the slots willabut each post, see FIG. 4, toward the outside of the slots 8, 8' and8a, 8a so that the tendency of the plate to shift laterally issubstantially minimized in that lateral movement is not resisted solelyby the clamping action of the screw head as in the prior art U.S. Pat.Re. 26,419. At the same time the device is adjustable and positionableto a much greater degree than is the cleat shown in U.S. Pat. No.3,403,461. The described advantages are important 'in that it isdesirable to have the normal weight of the player balanced on the heelplate.

In the form of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7,the improved heel structure is made integral with the sole of the shoe.This structure may be easily formed when the sole of the shoe is molded.The heel structure 30 as shown is integral with the sole 31 on theathletic shoe 32. In order to avoid confusion no cleat means areillustrated on the ball portion of the shoe 32, it being understood thata suitable form of cleat or traction means may be used if desired.

The heel structure 30 is generally oval in plan shape having taperedsides 33 and the notch 34 which extends transversely of the major axisof the oval of structure 30. The notch 34 is defined by the walls 35 and36. Wall 35 is generally normal to the major axis of structure 33 orinclined slightly toward the end of structure 33 which it faces. Wall 36is inclined at a shallow angle to the major axis facing the wall 35.

With the improved heel structure of the present invention on an athleticshoe, the shoe is provided with heel elevation to prevent a backwardpitch of the shoe from forward cleats and no heel cleats, the structureprovides some heel traction to allow quick stopping, and the structureprovides traction against the heel sliding outwardly to allow cuttingand allows sliding of the heel inwardly to avoid injuries.

Having described the invention in detail, further consideration of thespirit and scope thereof will be found in the appended claims, wherein:

What is claimed is:

1. An athletic shoe, comprising an upper,

a sole secured to said upper, and

a heel structure attached transversely across the heel portion of saidsole,

said heel structure having a notch formed therein with one wall of saidnotch being substantially normal to said sole and the other wall beingat an angle to said first wall and said sole whereby said notch providestraction transversely in one direction and a minimum traction in theopposite direction.

2. An athletic shoe according to claim I wherein,

said heel structure is integrally molded with said sole.

3. An athletic shoe according to claim I wherein,

said heel structure defines a pair of holes extending verticallytherethrough and including,

a pair of posts extending from said sole through said holes, and

means connecting to said posts to retain said heel structure in itspreselected position.

4. An athletic shoe according to claim 3 wherein said pair of holesthrough said heel are formed. as

slots converging toward the rear.

5. A heel for an athletic shoe, comprising an elongate member havingmajor and minor axes,

said member being adapted to be positioned transversely on the heelportion of the athletic shoe,

said member defining a notch extending transversely of the member.

one side of said notch being substantially normal to the major axis ofsaid member,

the other side of said notch being inclined at an angle to the majoraxis of said member.

6. A heel plate for athletic shoes according to claim 5, wherein saidmember having slots extending therethrough,

said slots being in converging-diverging and symmetrical relation to theminor axis of the bar-like member and transversing the major axisthereof.

7. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein indicia means areprovided on the heel member to indicate the proper positioning of theheel member on a shoe with the vertical wall of the notch facing towardthe outside of the shoe.

8. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein said elongate member isoval in plan form.

9. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein the outer marginal wallsof the elongate member slope from one surface to the other to provide asmall face for contact with a playing surface and a larger face forcontact with the shoe to which said plate is attached.

A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein said elongate member is madefrom a moldable material.

11. A heel plate as defined in claim 10, wherein said material is asynthetic plastic.

12. A heel plate as defined in claim 11, wherein said 6 syntheticplastic is nylon.

13. The combination defined in claim 12, wherein said slots are arcuate.

14. In combination, an athletic shoe having a bottom and placed mountingmeans in the heel area thereof, said mounting means comprised of screwelements spaced apart laterally of the longer dimension of the shoebottom, and

a heel plate mounted on said mounting means,

said heel plate being of bar-like configuration and being, further,provided with laterally spaced slots in a converging-diverging relationand symmetrical with respect to said heel plate,

said slots enabling said fastening means including said screw elementsto clamp the heel plate against the shoe bottom.

1. An athletic shoe, comprising an upper, a sole secured to said upper, and a heel structure attached transversely across the heel portion of said sole, said heel structure having a notch formed therein with one wall of said notch being substantially normal to said sole and the other wall being at an angle to said first wall and said sole whereby said notch provides traction transversely in one direction and a minimum traction in the opposite direction.
 2. An athletic shoe according to claim 1 wherein, said heel structure is integrally molded with said sole.
 3. An athletic shoe according to claim 1 wherein, said heel structure defines a pair of holes extending vertically therethrough and including, a pair of posts extending from said sole through said holes, and means connecting to said posts to retain said heel structure in its preselected position.
 4. An athletic shoe according to claim 3 wherein said pair of holes through said heel are formed as slots converging toward the rear.
 5. A heel for an athletic shoe, comprising an elongate member having major and minor axes, said member being adapted to be positioned transversely on the heel portion of the athletic shoe, said member defining a notch extending transversely of the member. one side of said notch being substantially normal to the major axis of said member, the other side of said notch being inclined at an angle to the major axis of said member.
 6. A heel plate for athletic shoes according to claim 5, wherein said member having slots extending therethrough, said slots being in converging-diverging and symmetrical relation to the minor axis of the bar-like member and transversing the major axis thereof.
 7. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein indicia means are provided on the heel member to indicate the proper positioning of the heel member on a shoe with the vertical wall of the notch facing toward the outside of the shoe.
 8. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein said elongate member is oval in plan form.
 9. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein the outer marginal walls of the elongate member slope from one surface to the other to provide a small face for contact with a playing surface and a larger face for contact with the shoe to which said plate is attached.
 10. A heel plate as defined in claim 5, wherein said elongate member is made from a moldable material.
 11. A heel plate as defined in claim 10, wherein said material is a synthetic plastic.
 12. A heel plate as defined in claim 11, wherein said synthetic plastic is nylon.
 13. The combination defined in claim 12, wherein said slots are arcuate.
 14. In combination, an athletic shoe having a bottom and placed mounting means in the heel area thereof, said mounting means comprised of screw elements spaced apart laterally of the longer dimension of the shoe bottom, and a heel plate mounted on said mounting means, said heel plate being of bar-like configuration and being, further, provided with laterally spaced slots in a coNverging-diverging relation and symmetrical with respect to said heel plate, said slots enabling said fastening means including said screw elements to clamp the heel plate against the shoe bottom. 